BGA Extra: Jets at Titans

This analysis is based on watching and re-watching TV footage. As such, it is not always possible to accurately determine everything that was going on. However, every effort has been made to ensure that the information below is as complete and correct as possible. For the purposes of BGA Extra (but not BGA, since that is too early in the week), I have also reviewed the coaches film, which was available for every play (whereas last year, it was only available for big plays). Statistics from PFF which are not available to subscribers were used in the completion of this article and we thank them for providing us with exclusive access to these.

Welcome to BGA Extra, where I draw a line under the previous weekend's game by responding to your questions from BGA during the week. After the jump, I respond to your questions about Monday's game against the Titans. If you would like your questions answered in future, remember to read my BGA game breakdowns every Monday and leave your question in the comments section.

ObserverAs I was watching the game it seemed that Mangold was snapping the ball low all night -- the final fumble might have made it worse in my memory -- was the ball being snapped low all night?

Yes, there were certainly a couple of others. I did mention that in part one of BGA. That is uncharacteristic though and I wonder if it was because he was required to make a lot of blocks on the move and rushed a few of them as a result.

damionWho is the Jets most INEFFECTIVE defender? If you have the time can you cover from 09-12? The Jets face a lot of salary cap issues this off season and I feel they should slash and burn this defense. It has put up very good numbers under Ryan and if he returns do they really need to be spending so much money on players like Harris, Scott, Pace, and Cromartie?

That's a very open-ended question. There are backups not getting reps that would be more ineffective than the guys playing ahead of them. Guys like Wilson, Davis and Allen have been picked on at certain times, but in situations where they wouldn't have even been on the field if Revis, Scott and Smith had been out there.

Back in 2009, the biggest weakness was probably Coleman and Smith. They got picked on a lot in coverage. In 2010, it was Smith again, along with the poor pass rushing numbers from Taylor and Pace. Last year again was the safeties, but this year, the safeties haven't been too bad and the weakness has been in the linebacking corps. It's a toss-up between Pace and Harris as to who has had the most disappointing year.

As for paying so much money to those guys, I think if Cromartie plays like he did this year, he's a bargain at that price. Scott and Pace won't be paid anything like the same kind of money next year and probably won't even be on the team. As for Harris, he underperformed this year and was a victim of Po'uha and Scott being hurt. Maybe they can convince him to take a small paycut, but they'd probably have to guarantee some of next year's money to do so. Risky...

Antwan1) Can you discuss the potential of all of the young receivers on this squad, use some stats and tape and stuff?

2) How much has Quinton Coples improved, and what piece is this defense missing?

On Stephen Hill, I was more impressed than I expected to be by his ability to get separation - he looked great running deep and ran some sharp routes at times. He went through a major slump in terms of catching the ball, but seemed to have got past that just before he got hurt. The fact he did get hurt a couple of times is also concerning though. I'm hopeful he's in a good position on the wide receiver development curve, if you look at early numbers for guys like Coles, Cotchery and Moss.

As for Jordan White, we didn't really see that much from him in preseason, so I'm at a loss as to why people are so eager for him to get a shot. Hopefully, he'll show something when he does get a chance, but in preseason he got some significant reps and only caught six passes, with only a couple of them going for a first down. He also dropped a pass and didn't really stand out returning kicks or as a blocker.

Coples kind of hit a wall in the middle of the season, but has looked really good over the past couple of weeks. If the Jets are going to go with more four man fronts next year, their linebacking needs don't look quite so bad. He's still not doing great against the run, but he's been productive as a pass rusher. Speaking of hitting a wall, here's a stat you'll like...Since Week 8, Coples has two sacks and six QB hits in 164 snaps and Chandler Jones has no sacks or hits in 154 snaps.

RichI was wondering, could you look at Kerley's job as a punt returner? He was driving me nuts (and not just this game either) as he keeps calling for fair catches within the 10 yard line, when IMO, he should take the risk and let those bounce in the endzone for a touchback. Am I being too much of a Monday morning...punt returner, or do you think he is doing the right thing?

Yes, I think his judgement is pretty awful, unless they've specifically told him that they never want to risk Sanchez being backed up near his goal line, so they'd rather he catch it there than take a chance of a funny bounce. At least he's been catching them recently.

B-Boy AlphaDuring the game last night I heard the announcer say that Kerley has 'the most fair catches this season' of any team. Is this normal for a Westoff lead special teams unit? I don't recall it being this way in the past. Is this possibly by design due to all the muffs we've seen as of late? Poor punt protection? It can't help our offense to be needing 80+ yards every series.

Yes - he has 31 fair catches. Only three other guys have more than 20 and the nearest to him is 26. Is it normal for the Jets? Not really, although Cotchery and Leonhard combined for 26 in 2009 (over the whole season). They had 20 and 21 in 2011 and 2010, but Leon Washington only had nine in 2008. It could well be that they're nervous about muffs.

FloridaJetFansince67Can you tell me how many starters played on specials last night? I thought I saw at least Bell, Scott and Landry on specials. Season on the line and poor specials all year led to this, I would think.

It's not unusual for the Jets to use starters on special teams later in the year, partly because they are better players, so it can galvanize the unit, but also because guys get banged up and you end up forced to pull double duty. Yes, all those guys were out there on coverage units, as well as Harris and some of the defensive linemen on the punt block unit. Most defensive starters, other than Wilson, would usually only get special teams snaps on the field goal defense.

madbacker #57Opinion question, who would you like to see running the O and who would you like to see as the QB? On the radio, Kirk Cousin's name was being thrown around?

Bring back Schotty!

(Only kidding).

Instead of the same old names, I like to think outside the box. I'd be very interested to see Chris Petersen of Boise State get an NFL opportunity as an OC. I don't think that's realistic because he has a pretty big contract pending - $11m over five years. One NFL guy whose offense I really enjoy breaking down due to its complexity and creativity is Rob Chudzinski of the Carolina Panthers. They could even potentially get him without having to pay compensation by giving him the assistant head coach job (sorry, Bob Sutton). Does his style suit the offense's personnel? Probably not.

As for quarterbacks, I don't really have a major preference and would probably rather get a game manager and develop a rookie behind them than splurge on a big name. As you may know, I'm not a fan of "running quarterbacks" and I'd prefer a run-heavy system to a spread offense.

I've seen a lot of Matt Flynn and Kirk Cousins because two of my best friends are big LSU and MSU fans and I was never entirely sure about either and have reservations about whether what they've shown so far is enough to go on.

Myself

Can we see an image of the field just before a long touchdown pass by an elite quarterback so that we can compare and contrast how open the receivers are to the images I/you posted on Monday?

Great question, me! - here's four from the last two weeks...see if you can guess who caught the touchdown each time...

Joe (via e-mail)Why does Sanchez NEVER throw the ball away?

He's done it six times. Cutler is the only guy with more than 550 snaps that's done it less. 25 QBs are into double figures, with Rivers on 37. Yes THIRTY SEVEN. I guess sometimes you can throw it away too much.

a57seNow that the playoffs are over for us, you could post your recipe for beating the Jets. I would think one of the points would be to just have your FS watch Sanchez and jump on the telegraphed throws...

I'm still going to wait until the end of the season because I want to see whether teams try the same things against McElroy and how he copes if they do.

Having said that, you saw the game on Monday night, right?

damion23 for 126....another 24 yards and the jets win the game I bet, where on the field was the ball spotted before Mark threw his final INT?

Actually, they got it on the 23, so if they ran it every time and then scored, they'd only have 149 for the game, thereby proving that you DON'T need to rush for 150 to win!

damionI've been stressing the rushing numbers over the past few weeks. Passing the ball was a huge mistake due to the time remaining. WHY would they want to throw a pass to score quickly? Only to give the titans all that time on the clock I think it would have been 1:30 or so? The pass blocking was less then good, and Sanchez was getting pounded.

The only thing I can think of is that they wanted to hedge their bets so that if Sanchez threw three incompletions, they can kick a field goal and retain their timeouts, which would force the Titans to try and get a first down if they wanted to ice the game and if not, the Jets would only need a field goal to win. As for the call itself, Cumberland was wide open on a quick toss and Powell was wide open on a checkdown, so passing the ball there wasn't doomed to fail, but for the fact Sanchez has been slumping and didn't see either option.

damionWhere was the wildcat in that situation, and not necessarily Tim Tebow but with Shonn Green, Jeremy Kerley or Joe McKnight? They ran it earlier in the game(w/Greene)and there was some success, why put the game in Mark Sanchez's hands especially after having 3 picks at that point in the game? Last weeks game, I thought these coaches finally woke up and saw what this teams strength was.

I don't think the wildcat would ever be used in that situation, because that's the sort of thing that will get you criticized heavily if it fails. I also expect they were reacting to the fact that there were a lot of people close to the line of scrimmage. However, I do completely agree. To play the percentages, they should have run the ball. Shonn Greene had four fourth quarter carries (for 33 yards) and all four gained at least five. Why not run it until they can stop it, or give you an easier look in coverage?

ShriekManThis may be a moot point now since there has been a QB change made. But, why does it seem like every team runs the hurry-up well but the Jets? Do you have any stats on this? Jake Locker did a pretty good job with the hurry up, our D looked gassed on the game winning come back drive that Locker led.

Sanchez's numbers this year - 47% and a 50.4 QB rating. Last year, he was much better though - 54% and an 81.9 rating, as well as finishing off two drives with touchdown runs. Perhaps surprisingly, he was a little worse in 2010 - 55% and a 72.4 rating. The Jets have scored inside the last two minutes of the first half eight times, but some of those came after they got the ball in opposition territory or on a drive that began earlier and was just finished off inside the two minute warning.

Remember when people used to say Sanchez looks more comfortable in a no-huddle and they should experiment with that more often? Nobody's been saying that this year!

ShriekManIt feels like the best talent on the team had their worst moments in the last 2 years. Nick Mangold yesterday, D'Brick last season against the Pats. I'm sure I could think of more cases if I tried. Clearly, the players are still really good. Does this just point to bad leadership and coaching or just like winning makes everything better, does losing make good players play worse? In other words, is coaching an overall problem?

Yes, losing begets losers. However, the coaching has to take some of the blame for the poor execution we've seen from this team - and not just this year.

StataTheLeftShould Sanchez have been able to come up with the low snap from Mangold?

It wasn't completely uncatchable, but it was definitely low. He had it in his hands but then it slipped out of his fingertips as he looked up. Essentially, if Stephen Hill, Santonio Holmes or Braylon Edwards dropped a pass in similar fashion a lot of people would complain, but if Jeremy Kerley or Jordan White did it, people would make excuses for them. Let's take a look...

Somehow it feels fitting to end this way:

(Via Deadspin).

I'll be back on Sunday with the BGA Preview for the Chargers game. Have a good weekend!

FNNY presented by Jeep: Common for NFL players to not remember games?

12:20AM

The FNNY panel touches on the report that Brandon Marshall told the Daily News he doesn't remember scoring three touchdowns in a 2014 game.

Read More

Share:

GEICO SportsNite: Jets place Nick Mangold on season-ending IR

12:06AM

Share:

GEICO SportsNite: Mangold to IR00:01:25

Willie Colon comments on Nick Mangold's career after the Jets placed him on injured reserve.

Share:

Wilkerson says 'tighter coverage' would have led to more sacks

Dec 8 | 7:30PM

Share:

New York Jets defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson (96) celebrates a sack with teammates during the first half of an NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans Sunday, Dec. 13, 2015, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan) (Peter Morgan/AP)

Jets defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson responded "maybe a little tighter coverage and we get those sacks" when asked why New York was held to one sack in their 41-10 loss to the Colts Monday.

Fitzpatrick to serve as backup QB behind Petty

Dec 6 | 4:55PM

QB Ryan Fitzpatrick will serve as New York's backup quarterback for the remainder of the season, while rookie QB Christian Hackenberg will not play unless starting QB Bryce Petty suffers an injury, head coach Todd Bowles told reporters on Tuesday.

Bowles named Petty the starting quarterback following Monday night's embarrassing 41-10 loss to the Colts, relegating Fitzpatrick to the backup role.

When asked if the rookie quarterback would see any playing time this season, Bowles was quick to say only an injury would lead to Hackenberg taking the field.

TJB Post Game Podcast: Bryce Petty and the Heartbreakers

Dec 6 | 3:59PM

Share:

The Jets are free fallin, while Corey Griffin and Brian Bassett have their green hearts broken and are at a loss for answers. But they do find your voicemails…and talk about Bryce Petty, Todd Bowles, an uncertain future, and a nifty play by the pylon.

Read More

Share:

Jets waive C.J. Spiller and Jeremy Ross

Dec 6 | 3:10PM

Share:

New York Jets receiver Jeremy Ross (10) returns a kick-off against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the fourth quarter at Heinz Field. (Charles LeClaire)

New York also announced the signing of WR Darius Jennings to the practice squad, who will take the place of WR Mario Alford, who has been released.

Spiller signed with the Jets on Nov. 2 after playing two games for Seattle. Spiller appeared in four games with the Jets, returning five kickoffs for an average of 19.1 yards per return, along with recording three rushes and one reception on offense.

Read More

Share:

BGA: Insight and analysis from Week 13

By Bent | Dec 6 | 12:15PM

Share:

(Ed Mulholland)

The Jets were crushed by the Colts, 41-10, on Monday night at MetLife Stadium as they fell to 3-9 on the season. Bryce Petty replaced Ryan Fitzpatrick during the game and will be the starter for the remainder of the season. Here's insight and analysis regarding the Jets' awful Monday night performance...

Quarterbacks

Ryan Fitzpatrick's performance speaks for itself. He only completed one pass beyond the first down marker, had a completion percentage below 50 percent, and punctuated his performance with an interception on the kind of forced throw he's been unable to get away with all season.

Bowles names Petty starting quarterback for remainder of season

Dec 6 | 12:08AM

New York Jets head coach Todd Bowles named Bryce Petty the starting quarterback for the remainder of the season, barring injury, after he replaced Ryan Fitzpatrick midway through Monday's 41-10 loss to the Indianapolis Colts.

Bowles said he planned to name Petty the team's starting quarterback for the rest of the year regardless of what happened Monday, adding that Fitzpatrick's ineffectiveness -- 5-for-12, 81 yards, no touchdowns and one interception -- in the loss to the Colts did not factor into the decision.

Petty completed 11 of 25 passes for 135 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions as he replaced Fitzpatrick for the second half, entering a 31-3 game.

Dec 5 | 11:46PM

Andrew Luck was nearly perfect in his return from a concussion, throwing for four touchdowns, three to Dwayne Allen, in the Indianapolis Colts' 41-10 romp Monday night past the inept New York Jets.

Not that Luck had to work very hard against the hosts, who were booed by a much-less-than-filled MetLife Stadium almost from the outset.

Luck missed last week's loss to Pittsburgh, cleared the NFL's concussion protocol on the weekend, and came back in style with a prime-time performance. He lifted Indianapolis (6-6) into a tie for the lead in the AFC South with Tennessee and Houston.

A witness said an argument took place between McKnight and the shooter before the shooter opened fire multiple times.

Read More

Share:

What did you think about the Jets' game?

Dec 5 | 11:15PM

Share:

We want to hear from you! What did you think of today's Jets game?

Record a reaction or question about the game, which may be used during TheJetsBlog Post Game Podcast, call 1 (831) 769-6387 or use this to record a message (please remember to leave your name and city):

New York Jets head coach Todd Bowles benched starting quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick in favor of backup Bryce Petty for the second half of Monday's game against the Indianapolis Colts at MetLife Stadium.

Fitzpatrick completed 5 of 12 passes for 81 yards with an interception and a 30.2 passer rating as the Jets trailed 24-3 at halftime.

Petty is making his first game appearance since Week 10, a 9-6 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in which he went 19-for-32 with 163 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

Jets honor Joe McKnight with pregame moment of silence

Dec 6 | 7:16AM

New York Jets running back Joe McKnight walks back to the locker room following practice at SUNY Cortland. (Rich Barnes-US PRESSWIRE)

The New York Jets have held a moment of silence before their game against the Indianapolis Colts at MetLife Stadium to honor former running back Joe McKnight, killed last Thursday in Louisiana.

Authorities said McKnight, 28, was shot during a road rage incident that was possibly sparked by a driver cutting off another on a nearby bridge in Terrytown, across the Mississippi River from New Orleans. The shooter was identified by police as Ronald Gasser, 54, and he was released overnight, drawing criticism.

McKnight was rated the nation's No. 1 running back recruit when he came out of Louisiana in 2006 and signed with the University of Southern California. He was a fourth-round draft pick of the Jets in 2010 and played three seasons for New York. He spent a season with Kansas City, and most recently played for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League.

Petty started against the Rams in Week 10 when Ryan Fitzpatrick was out with an injury, and completed 19 of 32 passes for 163 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. It was the first, and so far the only, start of his career.

While some have questioned why Todd Bowles has not given the young quarterback more opportunities to prove himself, many believe it is because Petty has simply not shown enough during practice to earn the starting job.

During the season, Bent's Game Analysis charts games for some of the New York Jets' upcoming opponents, enabling a breakdown of what to watch out for on game day…

This week's Monday Night Football will see the Jets hosting the 5-6 Indianapolis Colts. Despite having endured a disappointing year so far, the Colts were just one game out of first place in the AFC South entering this weekend. The Colts have lost three of their last four games, albeit to three potential playoff teams in Green Bay, Kansas City and Pittsburgh. The teams met early last year with the Jets defeating the Colts 20-7, again on Monday Night Football, in one of the best performances of the Todd Bowles and Mike Maccagnan era.

TheJetsBlog Podcast: Are the Jets Better Off Today?

Dec 4 | 11:54AM

Share:

Brian Bassett welcomes Brian Costello of the New York Post to the podcast, and they take a deep dive into the question of whether or not the Jets are better off today than the day when Woody Johnson flipped the switch from the John Idzik/Rex Ryan regime, to the current Mike Maccagnan/Todd Bowles duo. Later, SNY NFL Insider Ralph Vacchiano joins the show to talk about his Thursday conversation with Darrelle Revis at Florham Park, and to share his thoughts on Revis' future with the Jets.

Jets future up in the air for Revis, who wants to play in 2017

Darrelle Revis has made it pretty clear that he intends to play in 2017, telling SNY "I still have a lot of football to play." He even thinks he can still play football at a high level.

But at what position? And for whom? Neither of those answers are clear just yet. And though it's certainly possible that the Jets will simply part ways with the greatest cornerback they've ever had, a team source insisted not to rule Revis out of the Jets' 2017 plans just yet.

TJB Roundtable: Looking on the bright side

Maybe it is just me, but it seems like the Faustian bargain made by Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Jets on the eve of training camp signaled the end. Since then the trajectory of this team has been steadily downward: horrifying play at QB, the season-ending injury to Eric Decker, the immolation of Darrelle Revis as "player who gives a damn" … it has been rough. Hell, even Muhammad Wilkerson's reputation looks to be streaking down the Alpine Slide at Action Park!

But since we're Jets fans, we are notorious gluttons for punishment. So rather than dwell on all the bad stuff … what causes for hope do you have from what you've seen this season, Bent?

Read More

Share:

Gailey tries to evaluate Petty, Hackenberg despite lack of game time

Dec 2 | 8:06AM

Share:

New York Jets quarterback Bryce Petty throws the ball during warmups before a game against the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium. (Scott Galvin/USA Today Sports Images)

New York Jets offensive coordinator Chan Gailey said young quarterbacks Bryce Petty and Christian Hackenberg need to get all the reps they can get to continue to develop.

Though the Jets have decided to turn back to Ryan Fitzpatrick at quarterback for the foreseeable future, Gailey said Petty "needs all of the work he can get," according to NJ.com's Connor Hughes.

"It helps to play in games. ... The probability in games, you've got a lot better idea of what's going to happen," Gailey said. "In practice, you only have about a 75 percent probability of how they're going to be, how they're to play, and how they're going to progress."

Petty has started just one game -- a 9-6 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 10 -- this season before head coach Todd Bowles opted to make Fitzpatrick, who led New York to 10 wins last season, the starter again.

Revis weighs in on retirement, possible move to safety, and more

Ralph Vacchiano reports from the Jets facility on the Darrelle Revis rumors of him possibly retiring after the 2016 season.

Darrelle Revis, the embattled Jets cornerback, insists that he has given no thought to retirement despite his age and his struggles this season, and that his love for the game of football is as strong as ever. In fact, in an interview with SNY.tv on Thursday, he said any questions about how much he still wants to play are "really bizarre."

That was the 31-year-old Revis' response to the latest round of criticism in what has become a miserable season for the future Hall of Famer. He has struggled on the field in a season he admits is "definitely not" up to his personal standards, and the shots he's taken in the media have been relentless at times.

The latest came in a report in the New York Daily News on Wednesday that quoted a "confidant" of the cornerback saying "If he had his way he'd be done right now. He doesn't want to play anymore."

WR Brandon Marshall wants to finish his career with the Jets, the wide receiver told reporters on Monday.

"Obviously (I have) no plans on retiring, no plans on switching teams," Marshall said. "Would love to stay here and retire as a Jet."

The Jets acquired Marshall and a seventh round draft pick from the Bears for a fifth round pick prior to the 2015 NFL Draft. In his first season with New York, Marshall caught 109 passes for 1,502 yards and 14 touchdowns.

"You never know in this business," Marshall admitted about the chances he will be back in New York next season.

TJB Post Game Podcast: Put Down By The Pats

Nov 28 | 5:30PM

Share:

Corey Griffin and Brian Bassett deal with another inevitable loss to the Patriots, and the inevitable calls for the heads of Todd Bowles, Darrelle Revis, and Muhammad Wilkerson. They sift through another week of your voice mails, as the Jets sort through what's left of their season.